Professional cooks don't use special equipment to get cakes to cook evenly and flat on top, only a few tricks of the trade. Being patient while baking a cake is essential; rushing the process will result in a cake that is unevenly cooked or overcooked. The following are directions on how to make a cake cook evenly.

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Steps

1

Prepare the batter.

Prepare the batter according to package instructions. Let the batter rest for a few minutes after mixing while you prepare the cake pans. The batter will loosen and release some of the air inside of it while it rests, allowing for a more evenly cooked cake.

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2

Prepare the pans.

Follow the recipe guidelines for the size of cake pans you'll need. Prepare the pans by coating the inside of the pan with cooking spray, butter or other fat. Add 1 tbsp. (15 ml) of flour to the pan and swirl the pan around to lightly coat the fat with the flour.

3

Add the cake batter.

Add the cake batter to the pans, pouring it into the middle of each pan. Never overfill cake pans. The recipe should indicate how many pans and of what size would work best for your cake. If in doubt, never fill a cake pan more than half full of batter. Scrape out any leftover batter from the bowl. When the pans are filled with batter, carefully tap each pan several times on the counter top to remove any excess bubbles in the batter. Then, lightly swirl the pans allowing the batter to coat the pan slightly above the level of the batter.

4

Bake the cake.

Every oven has hot spots. In order for a cake to be cooked evenly, they must be rotated at least once during the cooking time. If the cake pans are on more than 1 rack in the oven then these too should be switched halfway through the cooking time. Always cook the cake as per the recipe's suggestion.

5

Remove the cake from the oven.

Carefully remove the cake from the oven and test the cake by inserting a toothpick into the top of the cake. Most cakes should be removed from the oven when the toothpick has a few crumbs clinging to it. If you wait until the toothpick is clean when removed, your cake is likely overcooked. If you see batter on the toothpick then it needs to cook longer.

6

Cool the cake.

The residual heat of the cake will continue to slowly cook it as it rests. Never try to remove the cake from the pan until it is fully cooled. Allow it to cool at room temperature, not in the refrigerator. As the cake cools it may pull away from the sides of the cake pan a little bit; this is normal.

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